Elling E3 delivery

[D3B]

Any one know how it went?

[rickp]

I do! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] We had a great weekend. Collected the boat at Aalst and all the little jobs on the snag list had been dealt with, along with a few others that we had discussed would be good ideas, but hadn't expected the yard to do. So to say we were delighted is an understatement. Saturday was crisp and clear, so we headed off for Willemstad, arriving just as darkness fell. Got prime spot in the old harbour (against the piles) and ate in Het Wapen van Willemstad again. Fantastic meal once again - probably the best I've had all year. Came back to find a Targa 62, and a large Squadron had taken the spot behind us (and proceeded to run their generators all night). They were obviously on a delivery trip too - lots of photos being taken and a 'support crew' by road too. When we left on the Sunday, only the Squaddie had made it away, the Targa had an engineer-type onboard with all the hatches up, and lots of boxes of spares being looked at.

Sunday was foggy. Less than 200m in Hollands Diep. Only a few ships moving so we nipped across when we saw a gap on the radar, and headed up to Hellevoetsluis. I'm seriously impressed with the Simrad radar (despite no MARPA) helped by the fact that almost everything has radar reflectors - all the buoys, nav marks, bridges etc. The fog slowly lifted into another nice day, with a bit of wind - so plenty of saily boats out, but few powerboats.

Some more photos as promised, first the fog:


Aft seating area


Deck Saloon / Wheel house


Saloon, port & starboard



The hard top (though I had to stop opening, as SWMBO was complaining of the cold)


And the fore heads - boy did we appreciate the radiator in the heads!


Finally, 2nd & 3rd cabins - didn't get around to photographing the master cabin




Next trip is in a few weeks time and could be more entertaining - but more on that afterwards, I believe I have to ban all attending forumites from taking photos or speaking publicly first..... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Cheers
Rick

[D3B]

Hi Rick

Took you a while to post that [img]/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

but then i guess you were on recovery from that lovely meal. Roll on next year to enjoy again.
Where is she now UK or still in Holland?
She looks fabulous. Hope you have many hours enjoying her.
Ban photos? So some Bond style hidden camera work could be needed?
Perhaps we should start a new forum?

[Gludy]

Great to see the pics - she is lovely.
look forward to more posts.

[mikef]

Great pics, rickp. I'm trying to work out how they fit 3 cabins and what looks like a very spacious saloon into the hull. Where's the galley?
Is she back in UK now or still in Holland?

[duncan]

Ohhhhhh I can just see the food piling up on that aft table in the sun next summer!

I can see Phaeton being relegated to 'mobile galley' with multiple Cobbs running and cooking up dishes to rival this posh restaraunt you have found!

Cobb will certainly roast Lamb well, cook proper dry rub pork BBQ and I reckon I can get it to cook some of the classics pretty well too - partridge stuffed pheasant stuffed chicken for example - would it be cheating if I preprep the birds? Don't fancy boning that lot out on a rocking boat!

[kindredspirit]

She looks smashing.

[rickp]

Thanks folks. She's still in Holland at the moment. Plan to be back in the UK early next year.

Mike - the magic is done by having a single engine down low (which helps shift the centre of gravity down), putting the galley down one side, and 3rd cabin down part of the other side. Galley has a worktop over the engine, and a hatch running the length of the engine bay (plus lots of other hatches in 3rd cabin) means you get very good access to the engine and mechanicals. To be fair removing the engine is quite tough (dismantle bits of the galley & deck saloon, then lift engine out through the roof) but it is possible, I'm assured.

Basic layout is shown here, but we changed the aft cabin a bit (removed shower, to give more room and storage in the main cabin, with the slight inconvenience of having to use the fore heads for a shower).



Rick

[mikef]

Ah, I wondered if the single engine allowed a different layout. Its a bit yottie really. Where's the fuel tank, gennie and other gubbins that usually lives in the engine bay? What about the gearbox and sterngland? Can you get at those OK?

[rickp]

Yes, its a yachtie layout. Tankage is under the saloon floor (water, fuel and waste) along with the aircon compressor. Generator and kabola combi boiler are in the engine bay, behind the 3rd cabin. Access from the 3rd cabin through a removable (but screwed in) hatch, or from the aft heads via a pull-open door that is large enough to climb in. Stern gland is under the sole at the front of the aft-cabin. Hatch in the wall at that point allows access to the gear box (and dual racor setup) - so i find checking the gearbox oil easier than for the starboard engine on the F43. Certainly less hatches to be removed and less crawling around in the engine bay.

The only hassle on the daily checks is the strainer for the engine raw water - can't easily see if there's **** in it. Will probably end up with some lowtech solution like a mirror and torch [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] The rest is a doddle, mainly from the large hatch in the galley that exposes the entire of the port side of the engine.

Rick